As you begin your journey, you’ll merely have a spear and a bow-and-arrow. These will no doubt be your staple weapons throughout your journey and are certainly the easiest to handle. This shouldn’t deter you from experimenting with every weapon available in the game. Each of them has it’s own unique function and situational use, which will perfectly compliment your bow. The TripCaster and RopeCaster are trap-based weapons which will require some foresight to be truly effective.

Whereas some of the heavier weaponry like the Rattler is best utilised in tense close-quarters situations where you’ll need an extra kick to get the upper hand. The Sling is more suited to long-ranged combat as it allows you to launch elemental bombs from a distance for better flanking opportunities or crowd control. Take time to learn the intricacies of each weapon and how it can be applied to a given situation. Doing this will make more imposing enemies easier to deal with and you’ll bag a ton of XP early on if you know what you’re doing.

The most vital aspect of your survival is that you know how to fight. There’s a nice variety of weaponry on offer in Horizon, but your trusty bow and arrow is going to be the staple weapon in your arsenal. From the word go, it’s best that you practice your aim and get to grips with how the bow works. It’s slow-motion capabilities are truly a godsend.

Using Aloy’s Focus on a regular basis is also a good way to practice. Once you become familiar with each machine’s weak-points you’ll be pulling off seamless executions in no time. It’s best to practice early on on smaller enemies, it may take some time, but think of all that sweet XP you’ll get.

Featured heavily in the game’s advertising, the Tall Necks are Horizon Zero Dawn’s equivalent of the Viewpoints from the Assassin’s Creed games. Finding these behemoths and over-riding their mechanical brains will reveal quests, locations, supplies and a bounty of other goodies in your current area. If you want to get all the best equipment and supplies, you should make finding these guys one of your main priorities.

Over-riding them too is also very satisfying as there’s a degree of Shadow of Colossus running through Horizon’s veins. The act of hunting one down and scaling its giant body before sucking knowledge from it’s brain never fails to satisfy. Building on its level of satisfaction as each Tall Neck you find will require you to find new vantage points to attack from and precise platforming will be required to conquer these giants.

Look, I know that when it comes to playing a game in which you fight machines with primitive weaponry that you want to be as much of a bad-ass as you possible; sadly this can ultimately prove to be one’s downfall. Aloy does have some pretty nifty moves at her disposal. Many of these involve sliding beneath enemies in slow-motion or leaping through the air whilst launching arrows at foes. These abilities can lead to some great surprise attacks or exploitations of weak spots but they’re incredibly risky if you don’t know what you’re doing.

These moves may look cool and make you feel like some kind of warrior princess who’d give Conan a run for his money, but it’s easy to fall into a trap of being reckless. Slow and steady really does win the race here and you’d be best off practicing your flashy moves

Crafting isn’t merely just another mechanic in Horizon, it’s a huge focal point of the gameplay. As previously mentioned, foraging for supplies is essential but can be frustrating if you don’t know where to look.

Thankfully there’s a nifty little addition to help you out. If you’re in need of a particular item you can go into the ‘Errands’ submenu of your ‘Quests’ tab and highlight the specific item that you need. This will then turn your hunt into a quest, providing you with directions and hints as to where the item is plentiful.

When it comes to combat, Aloy is more than capable of holding her own. This doesn’t mean that you can charge into every battle and expect to come out of top using pure aggression. The world of Horizon is littered with plenty of long-grass and tall trees that can obscure you from enemy vision. Take time to survey the environment and find the best vantage point. Perhaps even save yourself some time by finding an area that allows you to take down an enemy with a swift stealth kill.

By all means, don’t be put off taking an offensive approach. If you think you can handle the situation then go right ahead, but taking a little time out to plan a strategy will prove infinitely valuable in the long-run.

A point that was touched on in our previous list of handy tricks, but one we should elaborate on. Many of the game’s enemies are incredibly tough and a lot of them can easily take you down in one swift movement. If you ever find yourself between a rock and a robot dinosaur, backing away temporarily can completely change the flow of combat and provide you with a much needed edge.

Fleeing and finding a decent patch of grass to hide in will cause an enemy to temporarily lose sight of you. This is the perfect time for you to focus on an enemy, exposing its weak points in the process. This is particularly handy for surprise attacks or if you’re trying to separate a group of machines who have you surrounded.

The world of Horizon is huge. There’s so many places to go, things to see and machines to destroy. Whilst there is a lot of challenge to be found in navigating the terrain, don’t let this put you off. Not only is the world lush in design, it’s also brimming with possibilities and secrets that can easily pass you by if you let them.

Many of the game’s side-quests are hidden away from the beaten path, not sign-posted as easily as other games. A great deal of these side-quests will grant you better weapon upgrades and help refine your skill-tree in no time, so it’s worth taking time out from the main story and helping out those in need.